Xenoblade Chronicles (X) crossover! More info inside!
by Crimson Homura
Summary: Shulk and the team take up Alvis's offer to travel to the old universe after defeating Zanza, and arrive on board the space station in the year 2050. Barely 4 years later, Alien warfare breaks out over earth and action needs to be taken! Basically a novelization of XCX with XC characters. Will be put into the crossover section later. Sticks to the XCX canon with "minor" changes.
1. Prologue A: The old Universe, Reborn

_Disclamer: I do not own/am not affiliated with Monolith Soft in any way, apart from as a consumer. Therefore, unless my Ninja Nopon army infiltrate their company and hack into their computers and change some stuff and do other awesome stuff that only Nopon can do, such as cosplaying as 'Stupid Furry Volleyballs', I hereby declare that I do not own any installment of the Xeno- series, including XenoSaga, XenoGears, Xenoblade Chronicles or Xenoblade Chronicles X/Xenoblade Cross. As such, I now state that this material is fictitious and is not in anyway Canon to the lore of the Xeno-series, as much as I wish it to be. I only own the idea that the XCX universe would have happened if *SPOILERS* Klaus had not destroyed the universe as we know it in the assumed year of 2050 AD. I also support no ships of any kind, as much as the text below may discredit that: Alvis has infiltrated my story and as I am powerless to do anything against that AI (over whom many men have questioned their sexuality due to his hair, dress sense, voice, attitude and general Alvisness), I can do nothing to stop the story claiming that I ship people. _

_Also, beLieve, belIeve, beliEve. I am sure those of you out there who are familiar with the terms 'BEN', 'ARG', 'Jadusable', 'Alex', 'Rosa', 'Matt/Ifrit', 'Ryukaki' and 'Moon Children' will know what I mean by this, and I can only say this to you: For the love of your life and all things you hold sacred, DON'T OPEN IT. _

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><p><em>Anyway, moving on from that OOC discLIEmer...<em>

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><p><em>This will be up as a Xenoblade Chronicles story until Xenoblade X comes out and a section for it is made here, at which point it will go into the crossovers section of the two. For listed characters on the XCX side, it's Elma and Lynlee, while on this side, it's Shulk and Alvis. Shulk will replace Cross (the player's default name), while Alvis will simply be another person (although if you've finished XC, you'll know that that's kind of hard for Alvis). Also, Sharla will be working alongside Lynlee, Riki will be friends with Tatsu, and Fiora and Elma will get along well. Melia, Reyn, Dunban and other XC characters will show up, but the only truly major one will be Shulk. <em>

_Anyway, this will continue as more of the Xenoblade Chronicles X storyline becomes known, so the first few chapters will only go as far as the footage shown at the E3 treehouse presentation. Anything beyond that at this point is non-canon guesswork._

_The first chapter will explain how the XC characters got into the XCX universe. FYI, the XCX story starts in 2054 with the Alien battle over earth. The arc ship 'White Whale' arrives on Mira in 2056, and the official storyline (where the game begins) starts in 2057 with the awakening of Cross (in this case, Shulk) by Elma._

_I will continuously update Chapters 1-4 with new content as it is revealed (for instance, Irina, Van Damme, Maurice, Nagi and Guin), and might continue to do so even after the game comes out!_

_Constantly updated view count: 569 (as of 22:00 GMT 6.3.15)_

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><p><strong>Prologue, Part A: The old Universe, reborn.<strong>

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><p><em>Somewhere inside E.T.H.E.R, after the defeat of Zanza.<em>

"So Shulk, have you made your decision?" Alvis asked the young man holding the glowing blue sword in his hands. "The choice is yours, Creator. Tell me your decision for the future of this world."

Shulk looked up at the two revolving swords and the ball of green light: Alvis' true form. He had made his decision long ago.

"I won't decide. The future should be decided by each and every person in the universe. And therefore, what we wish for is…"

He paused for a second, then tossed his Monado into the air, where it joined the circle with Zanza's and Meyneth's, with Alvis at the center.

"…a world with no need for Gods!"

The swords ceased their spinning, then each of them stabbed forwards and crossed. A bright light shone from the point of contact, and Shulk was blinded. However, it was not a harsh blindness: it was more like Alvis was hiding his eyes from whatever lay before him. He heard his voice again, and this time, he sensed genuine emotion, unlike before, where it had just been the semi-deadpan tones of the god/AI presiding over this world.

"Shulk, there is something else. What Klaus did on the space station is a lot more complex than what I told you. In short, the moment he pressed that button, that universe was suspended. His and Meyneth's Consciousness were then input, and a new world was created. It is possible, with enough power from this world, to un-freeze the old universe. At the same time, you, as well as your friends, can switch their consciousness with the other people on the space station, who will return to the world we are in now. There are enough people there to allow the 7 of you, as well as myself, Klaus, Meyneth and Dickson, to return to the real universe. Everyone in both universes will retain their memories and bodies, but you will also have the memories of the person that you swap with, so that you will fit in with the people of the other universe. Is this agreeable to you?"

Shulk thought for a moment. On one hand, he didn't want to waste a person's life by hacking their body and memories, but it seemed that Alvis had taken this into account. On the other hand, he wondered what would happen to the old world, and since he had just been made the offer, he knew that his curiosity would never be satisfied unless he went to the true universe.

"I wish I could accept Alvis, but I have to take my friends choices into account first. My real friends, not projections from my memory. Also, what do you mean when you say that Klaus, Meyneth and Dickson can come to the real world? Aren't they all dead?"

"Yes and no. They cannot live anymore in this universe, but their conscious is stored in my memory. With access to the computer, I can re-create them as if they were still alive. I can do the same for myself as well, though as an AI, there will be slight complications. Rest assured though, neither Dickson nor Klaus will be hostile on the other side."

"In that case, I shall have to see what my friends say."

Shulk detected the barest hint of a smile in Alvis's next words.

"I see. I will return you to the Sentient Genesis where your friends are now. Feel free to talk to them for as long as you want about this until you have made your choice. No matter what the answer, remember that you can change it at any time, unless you choose to leave. Once you do leave, returning will be extremely hard."

Shulk mentally nodded, and the light faded.

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><p>He opened his eyes and saw the ether surrounding him, and he saw his friends standing around him, wonder of their faces. He briefly wondered why, then remembered that they had just killed a god. Wondering how he could forget such an important fact, He assumed that no time had passed to his friends while he had been talking to Alvis. Melia noticed Shulk's lack of awareness and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw everyone standing there. He also noticed the floating ball of green light behind them.<p>

"Shulk, is something the matter? We just defeated Zanza, we should be celebrating!"

"No, there is something we must do first."

The mood dissipated instantly. Reyn immediately assumed the worst.

"Another vision?"

"Not this time Reyn. Something else. But I must explain the circumstances first."

Shulk told his friends what had just occurred between himself and Alvis, and the things he had found out. He spoke of Alvis's revelation, as well as his offer, and once he had finished, he asked his friends what they thought.

"There's no way I want to stay here!" said Reyn in his usual loud voice. "I want to see the real world. But…" he continued, and Shulk suddenly realised that Reyn was having one of his rare sentimental moments. "But we have to stay here for a while and get the ball rolling. See what the world is like before we leave it to run its own course, so that we no longer have to help them along."

"Reyn's right" Sharla agreed. "We should stay on for a while: it wouldn't do to abandon everyone just yet. Let's start them on their way in the new world first. We will only when we are happy that they can carry on without us. Does that sound fair Shulk?"

Shulk nodded his agreement, but was unable to voice his agreement before Alvis appeared out of the ball of light, wearing his usual attire.

"I see that you have reached your verdict. Very well. Feel free to continue in this world for as long as you like: remember, no time is passing in the real universe. Once you feel ready to leave, you need only call for me. I will return you all here before we continue on: this place is closest to the real universe."

With that, he turned and walked back into the ball of light. As the group were rendered sightless (Shulk for the second time), the Bionis tore itself apart and fell into the water, and soon only it's head, back, left shoulder and left hand remained above the surface. However, Colony 9 remained. 2 of the AA batteries crumbled into the water, along with the Military district and the walls surrounding the town.

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><p><em>A couple of months later<em>

Shulk and Fiora sat on the beach and looked out over the sea towards the remnants of Bionis. Nearby, Reyn, Riki, Sharla and Juju here fishing (Reyn having no luck whatsoever). Dunban was still acting as the ambassador between the various races-Homs, High Entia, Nopon and Machina-and as for Melia…while she had recovered from her brother's death, the loss of most of her race was a devastating blow that still affected her. As such, she had spent most of her days in Outlook Park, watching the sun rise and set, silently letting her sorrows run their course until there was no more sadness left. However, the last week or so, she seemed that she had recovered: she had opened up to everyone and seemed like a completely different person to the one that they had met in Makna forest. Gone was the princess with the silver-spoon accent: in her place stood a proud young woman whose determination was a sight to behold.

Later that day, everyone gathered at the beach. Riki had taken the fish they had caught to his wife and littlepon, while Dunban had named Vanea as his successor. They had bid everyone farewell after explaining the situation to them, and while Oka had been sad, she had understood what he was doing. Now the day had come, and they stood on the pier, ready to face the future together.

Shulk stepped forward, standing on the very edge of the pier.

"Alvis, we are ready."

There was a moment of silence, then Alvis replied, his voice seeming to come from just off the front of the pier.

"I understand Shulk. Please, come this way."

With those words, the pier broke away from the land and floated slowly into the air. The small group of residents that had gathered to see them off waved, and the group waved back. The pier stopped rising, and a moment later, it was flying over the water towards the Bionis. There was no wind, nor danger of falling off: they all knew that much.

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><p>Shulk and the others stepped off the floating pier, which then rose again and flew back towards the colony. They were in an area that seemed similar to Gaur plain, though none of them recognized it. However, they did recognize the man with the silver hair standing before them. Alvis raised a hand in greeting, then turned and gestured to the land behind him.<p>

"This is the left shoulder of the Bionis, homeland of the Giants. It is inaccessible on foot from any of the other areas you traveled to, though it used to be connected to a path near the waterfall in Makna Forest. This place is the easiest pathway to the Sentient Genesis besides Prison Island. We should go there as soon as possible. However, feel free to look around here until you are ready to leave."

As Melia stared in wonder, and Reyn simply stood there with his mouth wide open in amazement (if there were flies to catch on Bionis, he would have eaten most of them already). Shulk went off to examine the nearby building, Dickson in his mind. Had the old man really lived here?

Dunban and Riki were by far the most intrigued. Dunban because one of his best friends had lived here for thousands of years, and Riki because he wanted to go and hunt Telethia, despite the fact that they were removed from the world when Shulk cast aside his Monado.

They returned a few hours later to fins Alvis waiting for them patiently.

"Are we all ready?" they nodded. "Then let us go on."

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><p><em>Sentient Genesis<em>

"You all know what is about to happen, and all I can say is: good luck. I'll see you all on the other side. Also, Dickson, Meyneth and the Klaus will be there as well, with all their memories of this place. Don't worry though-Klaus will only have partial memory, so there is very little chance of him becoming a power-crazed God again. Now, let us depart."

And with those words, the Sentient Genesis was left behind. As the AI known as Alvis guided the people who were with him through the gap between the universes, he sent a message to the computer on the space station. The E.T.H.E.R code received this and started the process that had been input by the AI himself: time in the original universe began running, and the time in the new universe matched the pace. Then, a mind switch of sorts took place. The mind shaped the body, and Alvis once again took the journey between worlds, carrying another group of people with him. They would wake up on the beach next to Colony 9, and be given their explanation of this world by Otharon and Juju, both of whom had been briefed by Shulk. Alvis just hoped that they would not be too put out that they would never see their old universe again.

Finally, Alvis dove deep into his memory, and soon located the remains of Dickson, Meyneth and Zanza. Placing them in three of the remaining four bodies, he modified Klaus' memory beforehand so that he would not pose a threat to them again. Finally, he transferred himself into the last remaining scientist. He did this very cautiously, since he would be an AI in a human mind: who knew what would happen?

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><p><em>Both an eternity and no time at all later<em>…

Shulk opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. He saw with some annoyance that his clothes hadn't made the switch with him, and he appeared to be dressed in some sort of white coat. He looked around and saw the exact same room that Alvis had shown him, albeit with different people. There were Klaus and Meyneth, looking exactly like they had in the memory, with their respective Monado's leaning against the wall: there was Dickson off to the side, holding his Gunblade and looking about in bewilderment: there was Fiora, looking slightly worse for the wear after the trip, but still in one piece. Shulk turned around, and was shocked to see _his Monado _leaning against the wall behind him. His tranquil blue Monado, looking like it had waited for him forever.

Suddenly, he was overcome by a fierce pain in his head. Groaning, he dropped to his knees. The memories came next. They flooded his mind, and he clutched his head in pain. It lasted only a few seconds, though the headache remained afterwards. Getting to his feet from his previous position on the cold floor, he looked round again, seeing the effect it had had on everyone. Klaus and Meyneth looked like they were passed out, and Dickson looked very similar, though he was slowly getting to his feet. Fiora was the same.

"Ohh, Riki feel like he did when Oka slap him years ago!"

Shulk looked around, then down. A pile of coat was on the floor, and out of it was crawling Riki, his head covered by his hand-wings. Shulk was pleased for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

"Riki, you're still a Nopon. You're not a Homs. Wait…" he paused and searched for the right word among the memories he had inherited. "You're not a human."

Riki looked up at Shulk and tried to hide back under the coat, but relaxed (if Riki could do such a thing) when he saw the young man's face. He climbed out, then jumped up and landed on the computer in front of him. He looked around at the assortment of weapons in the room, but after finding no biter, he jumped down again.

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><p><em>In two separate rooms elsewhere on the space station…<em>

_*Dunban & Melia*_

Dunban scratched his head, thinking over the memories he had just received. It seemed that the person he had switched with was married to the person that Melia had switched with…and the same seemed true for Sharla and Reyn. Dunban went to the door and shouted loudly down the corridor outside.

"Really funny Alvis! Nice way to break the 4th wall!"

Melia gave him a strange look, then realized what he was talking about. She blushed a deep red and turned away, only to come face to face with a mirror. It was at this point that she realized her headwings had gone, and she let out a cute scream that made Dunban turn around sharply. When he saw the cause though, he just chuckled to himself. It was then that he saw the Anti-Mechon Katana that Dickson had made for him leaning against the wall. Melia also saw the Imperial staff, and went over to examine it. It was perfect in every detail, exactly as she remembered.

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><p>*Sharla<em> &amp; Reyn*<em>

Sharla and Reyn- or rather, the people that Sharla and Reyn had switched with- had been sleeping together. There had been married after all. However, both of them had been woken by Dunban's shout and Melia's scream. Both were immediately shocked, but upon seeing the other's face, fell apart with laughter. Turning, Sharla noticed Gadolt's Rifle leaning against the wall. Reyn saw this and looked about for a driver, but found none. He was slightly disappointed, but was quickly distracted by Sharla giving him a huge hug.

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><p><em>Meanwhile in a secluded room elsewhere on the space station…<em>

_*Alvis*_

The AI-turned-man smiled gleefully. So this was what it was like to be human. Finally, he understood the meaning of Happiness, of Sadness, of Anger, of Love. Humans never ceased to amaze him.

He saw his Claymore leaning against the wall, and went over to examine it. He had decided to Manifest a few weapons for everyone. However, in the case of Fiora, Reyn and Riki, who didn't have a specific weapon that defined them, he had created one of every type of weapon that they could wield in a separate room. It had cost him an awful lot of energy, but given the amount of excess ether energy still left in the other world, he supposed that here was still plenty left. First though, he had to find everyone else.

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><p><em>One month later…<em>

The news reporter checked her script once more before the broadcast began. Today's story was one of the strangest things that had happened this century.

"You're on air on 3, 2, 1, start!"

The reporter cleared her throat and began.

"Welcome to the news on New Year's day 2051."

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><p><em>YAY! First chapter done! I'll only be able to update this past the entry to NLA after the game has been released. However, I should be able to get 2-3 more chapters out before that point. However, once the game has been released, I'll put this story into the XCXCX crossover section. Until then!_

_Anyway, please remember to Review, F&F, and PM me with any questions!_


	2. Prologue B: There once was a Planet

_Reviews:_

_Guest: No, Xenoblade X will have a separate section from Xenoblade Chronicles. Remember, there are previous entries in the Xeno- series, and each one has a separate category. So unless they make a 'Xeno- series' category and move all the stories from XenoSaga, XenoGears and Xenoblade into it, XCX will have its own section. _

_Cormag Ravenstaff: I made it in a effort to control my own hype about the game, and it'll hopefully work!_

_Someone: Canon will be very similar, but there will be extras and changes. Like I've said before though, I won't be able to continue beyond the point that they showed at E3 without resorting to guesswork._

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><p><em>This chapter is set in the 6 years between the arrival on the space station in December 2050 and the landing on Mira. I think that's enough of an intro for this chapter: it's relatively short, but it should get the point across.<em>

_Also, I'm really sorry if I write anyone OOC. The biggest problem WOULD be Alvis, but after the previous chapter, somehow I'm not so sure._

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><p><strong>Prologue, Part B: There once was a Planet called Earth.<strong>

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><p><em>New Year's Day 2051, one month after entry into this universe.<em>

"Welcome to the news on New Year's day 2051. Today we bring you a special report: The scientists who were trying to create a new universe have returned from the space station. And it appears that they succeeded somewhat. We now go live to the landing site on U.S land, where our reporter is waiting."

The picture on the massive TV switched to that of a man holding a microphone. Behind him was a large space shuttle, off which were boarding several people, as well as a thing that could only be described as a furry volleyball.

"Thanks. I'm at the U.S national airport where the shuttle has just landed. It appears that when the program was run, a new universe WAS created, but that's not everything. At the same time, 9 of the 11 scientists were swapped with people from that other universe. From what we can tell, only two of the scientists were untouched, but they still claim to have memories from the other world. I've not been allowed to directly talk to them, so all this information has come from the two lead scientists themselves, Klaus and Meyneth."

The reporter continued his speech, and Sharla looked on from her seat on the massive sofa that was also occupied by the snoring Reyn and the energetic Riki. The technology in this world both surpassed and was surpassed by the machinery in the old world. While they had no such thing as ether (the closest thing being electricity, despite the fact that it couldn't revive people or flow in rivers) nor anything that could levitate, they did possess gigantic flying Mechs, gigantic spaceships and incredibly advanced AI (some of which had already advanced beyond Alvis's previous level).

She looked around at the room she was in. 2 large sofas, a couple of armchairs (which were big enough for two people) and a large wall-build TV. This had amazed her when she first saw it, despite the fact that Alvis had assured her that it was normal for someone to have all this.

An awful lot had happened in the past few days. They had all met up in the space station soon after the transfer, and Alvis had explained everything to Dickson, Meyneth and Klaus. Klaus had been told the full story, despite his loss of memory, and the man had turned over a new leaf. After witnessing what could happen if a tyrant like Zanza were to be created again, he refused to be the one to do so. Afterwards, they had been shown around the satellite, and had discovered the rooms of weapons and armour dotted around the place, each one organised according to how powerful they were and who could wield them. They had also been shown where their old clothes had gone, and they had quickly changed back into their usual attire. Only Klaus and Meyneth decided not to get changed, since the outfits that they wore as gods were a bit flamboyant, to say the least.

After that, Alvis had sent a message down to Earth, saying that the experiment was complete and asking that they be returned to Earth soon. Barely 3 days later, they stepped out of the shuttle and taken their first true breath of air in this world. They carried the weapons they had chosen with them, and they wore their usual clothes.

It had been a week since then, and today was the first day of the year 2051. Sharla waked over to the balcony and went out. It overlooked the beach, and as she watched, the midday sun reflected off the waves, giving the sea the consistency of ether crystals even purer than the ones that they had used in Makna Forest to save Melia. It really was a beautiful sight.

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><p><em>June, 2054<em>

It had been three and a half years since they had entered this world. They all lived in the same (incredibly large) house by the beach, but over the years it had undergone a few changes. For starters, Shulk and Fiora had got married, as had Sharla and Reyn. Dunban and Melia would have done so, but seeing a 34 year old man walking around with a girl who appeared no older than 20 (but was in fact 92) raised some eyebrows, so their relationship was a badly kept secret.

Riki was still as lively as he had always been, but he had started to miss Oka and his children. Alvis mostly spent his time reading or researching, and Dickson was the sort of man who appeared to do absolutely nothing. Meyneth and Klaus were finally engaged, and had jointly published a book about the story of the other universe, which was selling far faster than they could print it.

Overall, life was going very well, until THAT happened.

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><p><em>July, 2054.<em>

Shulk and his group stood at the top of Blade Tower, watching as the aliens destroyed the planet that he now called home. There had been almost no warning, and now the ship they were on, 'White Whale', was carrying that last surviving members of the world away from their doomed planet. All 11 of them were aboard the ship, as was the space station-once the battle had started, all satellites had been called down. As far as Alvis knew, the only way for the other world to survive was to keep the computers on the station intact. That was merely a possibility, but it was one that they didn't want to experiment with under any circumstances.

As they traveled further away from the planet, it became smaller and smaller. Then, as if to say farewell, it drew itself together, then exploded in a mass of broken rock and light, obliterating all the aliens nearby, as well as the moon. Tears welled in everyone's eyes as they watched the remains of their home disintegrate. Then Shulk turned away from the scene and began to the trek down the internal stairwell of the tower. Alvis followed him. The AI had never been truly sad before, but now that he had-to an extent- lost everything, he knew what it felt like. It was going to take a long time to find another planet: even Alvis knew that much.

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><p><em>The intervening years<em>

"I'm Elma. This is Lynlee. I'm in charge of B.L.A.D.E, the military division here. Lynlee is the one who made the dolls."

The medium sized woman with long silver hair and light-blue eyes stood before them, accompanied by a young girl. Fiora and Elma introduced themselves to each other, and friendship quickly developed. Sharla and Lynlee were also talking, albeit in a slightly more detached way than the others. Dunban and Shulk went over to talk to her, but only got halfway there before they stopped dead. Those hairpins… Lynlee noticed the stares and gave them a quizzical look.

Dunban turned around and shouted to Alvis (who was no doubt hiding nearby).

"Alvis! What did I tell you about breaking the 4th wall?"

Alvis was indeed hiding, and the moment he heard the shout, he fell about laughing. There was no 4th wall about it: the girl had been a huge fan of the other world, and had even based the fuel mechanic of the dolls off the self-resupplying ether crystals found all over Bionis. So when she had seen the Monado hairpins in a souvenir shop, she had snatched them up before anyone else could. She didn't look like your typical fangirl, but looks are almost always deceiving.

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><p><em>December 2056<em>

Klaus saw them first. Holding the x100 telescope to his eye from the top of Blade Tower, he saw a group of purple aliens rapidly gaining on the arc ship from the left hand side. They had been on the lookout for pursuers for two years, and finally those intense hours paid off. And they were so close to an inhabitable planet too. He had spotted it a couple of months ago through the x10000 scope, and it had been named 'Mira' after one of the stars in the Cetus constellation. Incidentally, the Cetus constellation was also called the Whale-fitting, considering the name of their ship.

He pressed the emergency broadcast button right next to the telescope and spoke into the transceiver.

"Attention all personnel. Growth had caught up to us. All non-military personnel are to retreat to their statis pods, while all military personnel are to board their dolls and stand by for further orders. I repeat, Growth had caught up to us. All non-military personnel are to retreat to their statis pods, while all military personnel are to board their dolls and stand by for further orders."

There was no panic: the action had been rehearsed several times over the last 2 years. Klaus took the short way down the Tower: de-activating the gravity field around him and pushing off from the side of the tower towards Ishmael Hills, where he and Meyneth were living. None of the 11 would be taking part in the fight: they had to keep the computers running the E.T.H.E.R program save no matter what. They would stay out of the Statis pods until the very last moment. No matter what the cost, the life that would be lost if the computer broke was too precious.

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><p>Some of the aliens had made it inside the city, and although they had been driven back, the engine on the arc ship had been blown to pieces. They were right next to Mira, and had passed into the Gravitational field. Klaus noticed this.<p>

"Everyone, get in the statis pods! They'll protect us if the landing messes up! E.T.H.E.R will be fine, but we won't be if we stay our here any longer! Go!"

The statis pods were a last resort. They could only be opened by members of B.L.A.D.E, and the only known members were Elma and Lynlee. Nobody was really sure about Tatsu. However, unless they wanted to break every bone in their body upon landing (if one could call crashing into an alien planet a landing), there was no choice-the pods had their own fuel source and jet boosters, so even if the whole of NLA was destroyed, the pods would be flung clear and everyone would be fine.

Shulk climbed into the statis pod, his Monado held tightly in his hand. His last memory for the next two months was an image of Alvis climbing into the pod opposite him, holding his Claymore. Then the pod activated, the door closed, the cryogenic system activated, and he knew nothing more.

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><p><em>Alright, that's the second chapter done. I know that the website was updated with a few other characters, but unless they are shown at E3 2015, I'll be unable to get a reading on their nature and how they act, so I'll leave them out of the story. Once the game is released, that will change. Also, I'll be revisiting these 4 chapters and adding extra scenes and info over the next several months, so even if I finished all 4 chapters before the game comes out in the west, you'll still be getting extra content. And once the game is released, I'll be able to add even more stuff to these chapters!<em>

_If you're wondering about Dunban and the 4__th__ wall stuff, it's going to be a running gag throughout the story. It won't always be Dunban and Alvis, but it will be in every chapter. Also, if you're confused, the one in the first chapter was referencing the unofficial canon pairings of ShulkxFiora, ReynxSharla, and DunbanxMelia, while the one in this chapter was a reference to the Easter Egg the developers of XCX included (That is, Lynlee's Monado hairpins) ._

_Anyway, remember to Review, F&F, and PM me with any questions!_

_EDIT: the Nopon were revealed to be teh native sentient species on Mira, so I'm removing Tatsu (or at least, the very brief scene he had) form this chapter._


	3. Chapter 1: Two months later

_Reviews for Chapter 2._

_Guest #2: I am aware that Irina, Guin, Nagi, Maurice and Van Damme were revealed; I mentioned what I would do about them in the A/N at the end of this chapter. Unless I can get a clear read on the way they act and the like, I won't include them. Since we've seen a lot of footage from Tatsu and Elma, and a lot of static footage (and I think some VO in one of the trailers) from Lynlee, I can guess their character._

_Guest #3: Aww thanks._

_Guest #4: Not too much to say in terms of replies, but I got Xenoblade back in 2012 with the red CCpro, and it's epic._

_Guest #5: The changes will be minor, the biggest one is the removal of Cross and the inclusion of XC characters. I also have something planned for the next 4th wall break: something to do with those dinosaurs, though everyone will be shouting the line at some point, except Alvis (possibly) As for the final question, I can't answer that: I have no knowledge of the story past the NLA entry, Though Meyneth and Klaus will probably stay behind to watch over E.T.H.E.R, since neither of them is exactly good at fighting in this world: they are scientists after all!_

_Cormag Ravenstaff: removed._

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><p><em>So this is chapter 3. Both this and chapter 4 will be quite difficult to update, and will basically consist of travelling across the Primordial Wilderness, taking on some enemies, exploring etc, and it will end at the giant lizard scene or somewhere near to it. <em>

_Pre-release edit: YAY! MORE STORY WAS REVEALED! I'll put a poll up on my profile for which Union you want Shulk to go into in later chapters (which won't be out until the game is and I've played some of it, so that's plenty long enough), as well as the link to the page that shows everything off. _

_Guin and Nagi were also revealed, but the same thing goes for them as it does for Irina and VD, and Maurice. However, I did notice that Guin appears to wield a Gunblade like Dickson, so maybe they could give each other a few pointers?_

_FYI, the sectors are: Pathfinder, Interceptor, Avalanche, Testament, Colepedian, Land Bank, Arms and Companion. You can find what they mean through the link I'll put up on my profile._

_Now, let's begin! All ye readers shall behold the power of the Monado!_

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 1: Two months later<em>**

* * *

><p><em>February 2057<em>

_**Elma**_

The valley of falling stars had almost been completely cleared of survivors and their pods, but one remained, and it was to this pod that Elma was travelling. The air on Mira, though similar to Earth's, had some sort of chemical in it that caused one's eyes to develop rings and change slightly in colour. As far as they knew, there were no other side effects, though if there were, there wasn't much they could do about them. One other thing that she had noticed was that the gravity on Mira was far less than that of earth, enabling the dolls to be more economical in their fuel use and fly at slower speeds without the risk of being pulled out of the sky.

The walk to the valley only took about 15 minutes, and the pod still sat there, immobile, waiting for her to put in her name and password, thereby unlocking the pod and waking the occupant. Walking over to it, she searched for the screen (it was dark and raining) until she found it, whereupon it lit up, asking for her name and password. Inputting them, she internally smiled at her password, remembering the real function of B.L.A.D.E and how suited it was to that.

Name: Elma

Pass: ****************

The pod whirred for a moment, then accepted. The screen blackened and the door slowly opened, and Elma held up the torch she was carrying to see who it was.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Shulk<strong>_

The light was blinding after so long in the dark. Putting his hand up to shield his face from it, he briefly wondered how he had got here. Pausing for a moment, he thought, his hand still raised in front of his face, blocking the light.

That was it: NLA was going to crash, E.T.H.E.R had to be protected, Klaus had ordered them to get into the pods, Alvis had-

E.T.H.E.R!

His eyes widened and he jumped out of the pod and into the rain, but crumpled immediately: he hadn't used his muscles for two months after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Elma<strong>

Elma jumped back as a dark shape that she vaguely recognized flew out of the pod, nearly crashing into her. It landed on its' feet, then faceplanted onto the wet ground as its' legs buckled, unable to take the weight of their owner. Lowering her torch to the groaning figure before her, she recognized the peculiar dress sense and blond hair instantly.

"Shulk?"

The man looked up at her, fear on his face before he recognized her.

"Elma! Is E.T.H.E.R safe!? Tell me!"

Elma was shocked: this was completely unlike the Shulk she knew. Then again, anyone would be worried for the wellbeing of an entire universe.

"Yes Shulk, E.T.H.E.R is fine. No damage was sustained in the crash: Klaus and Meyneth protected it well. There is no need to worry."

Shulk visibly relaxed, then slowly tried to stand, working the now-unfrozen blood back through his now-muddy legs, and when he could stand again, he hobbled back into the pod to collect his Monado, which appeared to be fine.

"As a matter of fact, you are the last person in your group to be found. Alvis was the first, though he just randomly walked in through the front door on NLA, so to speak. He claims he overrode the pod computer and let himself out. Honestly, the problems an AI causes…"

Elma turned away from Shulk and started walking.

"We should get back. It's raining at the moment, but hopefully it'll clear up soon. Then you can see the beauty of this planet."

"Yeah, let's get going." Shulk replied, shouldering his BFS and falling in behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>Shulk<strong>

They crossed the valley of falling stars, which was actually quite small, and made their way up a path that led out of the valley. Shulk didn't see any monsters at all, but Elma had had quite a tough time getting down here without a fight, so it surprised her when she glimpsed them cowering against the rocks, staying as far away from her and Shulk as possible. Her eyes narrowed: there was something wrong here.

They cleared the valley a couple of minutes later, and Shulk saw a vast plain spread out before him-or would have done if it wasn't raining. But as he and Elma stepped out from the mouth of the valley, it suddenly stopped raining, the clouds cleared up, and Shulk was treated to the vista of a lifetime. A vast green plain, as large as the Bionis left shoulder, if not bigger, was spread out before him.

As he marveled at the sight of huge waterfalls that could rival the one in Makna Forest, and gaped at floating islands, his view was suddenly obscured by the neck of a large dinosaur-like creature that must have been resting underneath the ledge he was standing on. It stood and reared its' head, showing massive blunt spikes on its' back, then slowly plodded towards a lake on the other side of a natural rock bridge. Shulk suddenly realized that there wasn't enough space for the dinosaur to pass under the bridge, and was shocked when the neck of the dinosaur _passed right through_ the rock. Looking skyward, he shouted to the listening clouds:

"First plot-device weather, now no-clip dinosaurs!? Nice way to break the 4th wall again!"

Elma heard this, and looked at him, slightly puzzled. She had been looking around, at the view, and had missed the dinosaur waking right through the bridge. She also knew that the people that had come through E.T.H.E.R were more than a little strange sometimes, especially when it came to this…4th wall thing.

Shaking her head to clear it, she pointed towards the location where NLA had landed, and Shulk stopped his ranting and followed her finger.

"We need to get over there. It won't take too long, but you'll find that the city has changed a lot in the past two months."

Shulk blinked in surprise. "Has it really been that long?" he asked.

"Yes, and you might not recognize much of the city, despite the fact that nothing was destroyed in the crash. We should get going now, but before we do, I need to tell you a couple of things. Firstly, the gravity here is far weaker than it is on Earth, so not only do you jump higher and fall slower, but you aren't hurt as much by long falls. While falling from up there" she indicated the floating overhang that seemed to be nearly a mile off the ground "will probably still kill you, falling down there" here she pointed to the beach about 30 meters below them "will barely leave a scratch. And of course, you take no 'fall damage' if you jump into water.

Secondly, we know that the aliens known as Growth are still chasing us, and while we haven't seen any of them since we landed here, almost everyone in the Arms and Avalanche Unions is preparing for a fight, and we need every person we can get."

Shulk wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

"Union? What Union?"

Elma frowned briefly, then remembered that the Unions had only been formed after the landing.

"After we landed, B.L.A.D.E divided everyone up into 8 groups, or Unions. They are Pathfinder, Interceptor, Avalanche, Testament, Colepedian, Land Bank, Arms and Companion. I'll explain more when we get there, but for now, I can tell you that the Arms Union works on the Dolls, while the Avalanche Union deals with troublesome monsters."

"Avalanche…that seems familiar."

"It should. Irina wanted to base the name off a group from one of the most famous games ever made. though I didn't think you would have played that game, knowing who you are. And before you ask, you won't find any cosplayers in Avalanche. Now, we should stop standing around talking about remnants of the old world. This place is our home now."

Shulk nodded. Looking down at the beach, he steadied himself and jumped, Elma following him barely a moment later. He landed on the beach feeling like he had only jumped from one of the ledges on the way to the Mechon scrap yard in Colony 9. Elma landed beside him, and they set off in the footsteps of the dinosaur: under the bridge and across to the lake.

Seeing the massive creature drinking, they walked up to it, but when they got near, it suddenly stopped drinking and turned to walk away from them. Shulk an Elma waited until it had stopped before they walked closer, but the moment they got within a few meters, it moved off again. At this point, Elma was sure of her suspicions. Turning to Shulk, who was puzzled by the animal's act, she spoke.

"Usually, there are animals everywhere. Even when I came to get you, I had a tough time avoiding them. Now though, they are staying as far away from us-no, from _**you**_-as possible. Somehow, I have a feeling that you are far stronger than the rest of us, so much so that nothing wants to be near you for fear of being crushed by you."

Shulk looked stunned. He hadn't thought that his Monado carried THAT much power, especially after 6 years of gathering dust and 2 months in statis. Suddenly, a slight smile crossed his face.

"Well, if that's the case, I suppose I'd better test it out."

And with that, he ran towards the massive dinosaur with Monado in hand, the god-slaying sword emitting a blinding blue light as it came to life once more.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 3 end! Chapter 4 will include wandering around the wilderness and entering NLA. <em>

_To anyone who thinks up a scene I could include in the first two chapters (something on the space station or Bionis left Shoulder. Perhaps on Earth or in the biosphere of the White Whale?) PM me or review with your idea. I'll reply as soon as I can!_

_On a second side note, we have a huge slew of character details concerning Tatsu and Lynlee, most of which were in the show-off on Friday. Apparently Lyn is great at cooking, and there is a running gag where Tatsu looks tasty/like a potato and Lynlee/everyone wants to cook/eat him. _

_Feel free to review, F&F, and PM me with any questions!_

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><p><em>All ye readers who have beheld the power of the Monado shall rejoice and be slaughtered. <em>


	4. Chapter 2: What a Bunch of Jokers

_Reviews:_

_None for the previous chapter :(_

_Reviews for this chapter:_

_Someone: For some reason I can't PM/directly reply to your review. Anyway, I think I mixed my words a bit. There will be NO OBVIOUS parings. So for all you know, *they* could become a couple, but it would not be specifically stated. I'd convey it through other means, such as her not being as aggro towards him. Also, did you find the 4th wall break in this chapter? Don't answer now, include it in your review for chapter 5 (when it comes out)_

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><p><em>I'm thinking of have a '10<em>_th__ review=1 question within reason' thing. As such every 10__th__ person to review on ANY of my fics gets one question about ANY of my fics, within reason and as long as you don't share it with anyone. _

_Anyway…_

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><p><em>Chapter 4! So we left off where Shulk was about to go and curb-stomp a dinosaur. Remember (talking in 4<em>_th__ wall-breaking terms) he's LV.99 with his Monado (and possibly with all 5 of his skill trees), as are the others (though without a Monado), so everyone from XC is obviously going to be overpowered. Also, arts will be used, but the only obvious ones will be the Monado arts. The others will just be attacks, but I'll detail them so you'd recognise them for what they are._

_Just to clear things up, Melia can manifest her headwings, but she doesn't have them by default. Also, Dickson still has his Giant + Sword/Cannon transformation, and Shulk and Fiora both still have their blue/red glow when they tag-team someone. Oh god I just spoiled half of my own story._

_Anyway, let's get going!_

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><p><em>All ye readers shall behold the power of the Monado!<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: What a bunch of jokers.<strong>_

Elma tried to shout a warning, but it passed unheard. Seeing that Shulk would probably need all the help he could get just so that he didn't get crushed into oblivion, she pulled her dual machine guns of her back and took several shots at the creature, not having to aim due to its sheer size. None of them pierced the animal's thick armour, but a few of them found their way into sensitive spots. VERY sensitive spots.

The dinosaur reared up on its hind legs and roared, then turned to face Elma. It began to lumber towards her, completely ignoring Shulk despite the blinding light emitting from his Monado.

"Shulk! Get out of there! I'll draw it away from you!" she shouted.

"_That won't be necessary, Elma_._"_ Said a voice in her head.

Damn that AI and his telepathy.

"_Alvis?" _she sent back. _"What are you doing? We need to have Shulk alive, not crushed under hundreds of tons of living fossil!"_

"_I am aware of that. Nevertheless, do not interfere. Shulk is quite capable of taking this creature on. You only need to have faith. Do not forget, none of us from E.T.H.E.R need implanted chips to change fate, unlike the rest of you."_

"_How do you know about that!?" _she shot back. Nobody else should know what B.L.A.D.E stood for, nor their true purpose_. "Wait, don't answer that. You just hacked into our system, didn't you?"_

"_False assumption once again, Elly_." The AI replied, and Elma swore she heard a note of smugness in Alvis' voice._ "I merely implanted a copy of myself in your system, and it found all the data for me. I still don't understand how Science can interfere with higher plains of existence, though I assume I'll find out later. But enough of this: watch how Shulk does, and do not interfere." _The AI fell silent, but Elma knew he was still there. Gods he was annoying sometimes.

Elma concentrated on the scene in front of her again and found the Dinosaur to be off to the side rather than about to bring its foot down on her head. Not seeing Shulk on the ground, she looked higher up and gasped.

Shulk had just landed on the Dinosaur's head and stabbed his Monado into it. Now, he ran along its back, dragging the sword behind him. Once he reached the tail, he pulled his sword out and jumped up into the air, while the Dinosaur crashed forwards onto its front legs due to the sudden loss of its spine, and therefore the loss of all movement.

Shulk, his eyes now glowing the same blue as his sword and his body giving off a similar aura, raised the Monado high above his head and brought it crashing down onto the beast from behind. Nothing happened for a long moment, then Shulk deactivated the Monado and walked over to Elma. Walking straight past her, he murmured in her ear.

"Good, I've not lost my touch. I guess we should send a team out here to collect the remains. Now come on, we haven't got all day."

Elma turned to follow him, but was stopped by the sight of the dinosaur falling into two separate pieces.

Elma shook her head in disbelief. No wonder Alvis wasn't worried. She heard the mental chuckle and instantly ceased her train of thought, not allowing Alvis to gain any hold by which he could start a conversation.

Finally turning to follow Shulk, they walked in silence for a long while, and all the time the monsters kept as far away from them as was possible. Most of them at least.

* * *

><p>A short while later, but long after the moons had risen (for some reason, there were 48 earth minutes to every day were instead of 24 hours), Elma and Shulk approached the wall of NLA, only to be confronted by a massive lizard.<p>

"That's strange" Elma remarked. "They don't usually get this close to the city". Turning around, she saw that two more of the creatures had crept up on them and had them surrounded. Sighing, she unsheathed her Dual Blades and stood back to back with Shulk, who merely surveyed the lizards as if they were nothing more than mooks. Which they were. To him at least.

"Elma, I suggest you sheathe your weapons. I'll end this in an instant, but I don't want to hurt you. Let them creep closer, but do nothing unless I tell you to."

Elma was riled by the fact that someone else was giving her orders, but let it slide for now, keen to see what else Shulk could do. She replaced her blades and waited, the lizards steadily moving closer.

Shulk put his hand on his Monado, which thrummed in response and began to glow with an orange light.

"Monado Shield" he whispered, and in an instant, both he and Elma were protected by circular shields made of hexagonal panels. She looked at him oddly.

"Why did you do that?"

Shulk smiled slightly, and Elma was suddenly reminded of an annoying silver-haired artificial intelligence.

"So that I don't have to worry about any collateral damage."

"Collateral damage? From what?"

Suddenly there was a wide grin on Shulk's face.

"This."

The wolves howled skyward and time seemed to slow down. Shulk new completely drew his Monado from his back, which began to emit a blinding white light that spun around the blade at ever-increasing speed. Elma braced herself, and then Shulk thrust the sword into the air.

The wolves charged.

Elma closed her eyes.

Shulk's eyes shone bright blue.

"Monado Cyclone!"

The world exploded.

* * *

><p>Elma awoke to find herself lying on the base of the crane they were using to restore the damaged outer section of NLA. Sitting up, she noticed that it was morning and that the wolves were gone. Remembering the wolves made her remember about Shulk, the Monado, and…<p>

Looking around, she saw Shulk sitting on the edge of the crane a few metres away. Looking back, he smiled at her guiltily.

"You've only been out for about 15 minutes. Sorry for using that attack back there, I had no idea it would be so strong. It wiped out the wolves though."

Elma looked over to where they had been, a good 30 metres away. The ground there had been overturned, as if someone had dug up the whole thing, thrown random chunks of dirt away from the area, then preceded to fill the hole in and not bother to smooth it over.

'_Monado Cyclone!...'_

Elma turned to Shulk.

"What was that attack that you used? And what of the shield?"

Shulk sighed, his blond hair masking his face as he bent forward to slide off the platform onto the ground.

"I used the shield hoping that it would protect you, since I didn't know if the attack would hurt you as well as them. However, I had no idea that the attack would be so strong. I'll need to ask Alvis about this."

With a confused shake of his head, he turned away from Elma and began to walk towards the nearby elevator. She followed him, hoping that reviving him was the right choice and wouldn't get them all killed.

* * *

><p>Shulk and Elma travelled upwards on the lift until they reached an external platform with an incredible view overlooking the wilderness. The early morning mist had cleared, and Shulk could see for miles. The huge floating overhang-like island in the centre of the area captured his attention, and he swore to himself that he would go there some day with Fiora, even if it wasn't only for the view.<p>

"So you made it back!"

Shulk turned to see Meyneth walking towards him and Elma, accompanied by Klaus and Alvis. Elma also turned, and catching sight of the three, scowled at the last member.

"Why are you so keen on using that telepathy thing without asking? And why did you hack our computers? You know there's private information on there."

He merely tipped his head and smiled slightly in his usual aggravating way, something that was beginning to drive Elma mad.

"If I am correct, there was nothing on there that you were not going to tell us at a later date. Do not worry though: I will not tell anyone what I have found. Not without your permission at least. They do know that I found it though, and you can't prevent that."

Elma sighed, tired from dealing with the infuriatingly calm AI for the past two years. If it wasn't due to who-or what-he was, she would have kicked him out a long time ago.

Alvis turned to Shulk next. Before he even said anything, Alvis answered the question that had been and the front of his mind for the past hour or so.

"Your Monado stores away power when it is not in use, and slowly absorbs power from its surroundings, though not fast enough to do any harm to them. Since you have not released it for over 6 years, it has had enough time to absorb a large amount of energy."

"So that means…"

"Correct. Couple that with the fact that it absorbed Zanza's energy when you killed him," he glanced towards Klaus, who didn't notice the gesture but was looking uncomfortable, "and the fact that the air on this planet is full to the brim with their equivalent of Ether, and you get a Monado that is far stronger than any that preceded it."

Shulk's jaw would have dropped if it wasn't for the fact that he had suspected something like this from the start.

"If not used, I would shudder to think just how powerful it could grow. The reason the shield didn't protect Elma was because both arts have the same signature, and since the shield only blocks attacks with a signature other than its own, whether it be physical or ether, it did nothing to prevent Cyclone damaging Elma, albeit indirectly."

Shulk took all this in quietly, mulling it over as Meyneth and Klaus came over to him.

"I assume that Elma's already told you, but you'll be glad to know that E.T.H.E.R is safe. No damage was sustained in the crash."

"Isn't there something else you want to tell him Meyneth?" Klaus said, struggling to keep a grin off his face.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Umm…how should I put this…well, you see…"

Shulk resisted the temptation to roll his eyes while Meyneth sorted out her words.

"It turns out that the native species of this planet has a very familiar name." Klaus supplied.

"Meyneth looked at him thankfully, though a touch annoyed.

"Yes, that's right. They are the Nopon."

Shulk nodded absently, then realised what he had just heard.

* * *

><p>"What!? You mean the Nopon are the resident species here!?"<p>

Meyneth nodded. "After we got out of E.T.H.E.R, I always wondered where the original idea for the Nopon came from. I guess we know now though. Still, it makes me wonder about where the High Entia or the Machina came from. Given the information we have here, I would think that they came from other planets within a few light years of Earth. As for the other creatures, such as Bunnits and Vangs, I assume that they are based off our subconscious memories of this universe."

Klaus agreed with this, and Meyneth continued.

"As for the Mechon, they were a product of the factories, so they don't really have any sort of origin in this world. The more powerful monsters, such as those 3 dragons," she shook her head here, and Shulk saw that there was a touch of either fear or wonder in her eyes, "were probably born of our fears or things we unconsciously revered: if you ask around, you'll find that a surprising amount of people would happily worship dragons if it wasn't for the fact that-"

Meyneth made to speak further, but was interrupted by a large shout of "Shulk!" from behind her. Turning round, she yelped and jumped out of the way as a charging Reyn rushed past her and enveloped Shulk in one of his bone-crushing (but friendly) hugs.

"Shulk! You made it back! I told them that you would!"

"Reyn…that…hurts…"Shulk managed to gasp out.

"Oops, sorry." Reyn removed his arms and Shulk had never been happier that he could breathe again.

"Anyway, how was the journey back here?" Reyn asked. "You encounter any monsters?"

"A few, but none of them were anywhere near strong enough to even put a scratch on me. A few of them are pretty aggressive though, like those lizards. They weren't much of a challenge though: heck, even those massive Dinosaurs didn't put up a fight!"

Reyn whistled. "You took on one of those Dinosaurs single-handedly? People stay well away from them, despite the fact that everyone from Bionis can take them down easily. Since you're the first to have done so, it gives the rest of us no reason not to go out there and defeat them ourselves. I'd happily smash some dino brains in, but Sharla doesn't want me getting hurt. And she's the medic! Honestly, why is she so worried about me?"

Shulk laughed at this last complaint, picking up on what Reyn had so obviously missed. He stopped laughing the moment he saw a flash of raven hair stalking towards him over Reyn's shoulder. Choosing not to warn Reyn, he turned away to speak to Alvis again, only to find him gone and Elma scowling at the ground below her. Walking over to the railing and looking down, he saw Alvis kneeling by the ground that had been ripped up by Monado Cyclone. After a few moments, he turned and walked off, heading in the direction that Elma and Shulk had come from, no doubt to see the state of the dinosaur that Shulk had pulverized.

* * *

><p>The sound of Sharla and Reyn starting their usual false-anger argument drew his attention, but only momentarily, as he was smacked in the face by a thrown-and very dizzy-Riki. Pulling the Nopon off his face and dropping him on the ground, only to have him roll onto his back and lie there, dazed and groaning in that semi-cute way we always did. Turning to see who had decided to launch the furball at him, he suddenly found himself being hugged to death. Again.<p>

"Shulk! I knew you'd make it back soon! I was so worried about you!"

Fiora let go of him and looked up at him, her eyes wide and looking like she was about to cry. Melia stood a little ways back, staring at a very interesting piece of non-existent dirt on the floor. Shulk still felt sorry for her after all this time, but it wasn't like he could abandon Fiora for her: they had known each other all their lives, and Shulk still wasn't sure-even though it had been 3 years since Melia had admitted the fact that she loved him, though that had been before Dunban - what the High Entia girl really wanted, for herself or Shulk, let alone the others.

Disentangling himself from Fiora, he smiled slightly in his usual way.

"You don't need to worry about me Fiora. You should know that by now."

He turned to Melia and embraced her. She blushed slightly, but returned the gesture.

"I was worried about you. I'm thankful that you are alright" was all she said, which was the equivalent of her crying her eyes out and praising the gods-well, before said gods had died.

Shulk let go of Melia and stepped back, then looked around.

"Where's Dunban? I thought he would be here."

Elma walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"He's been receiving treatment for his arm these past two months. He's slowly regaining use of it, and it should hopefully be completely healed soon. He's being treated now, and while he wanted to come, he knew that you'd go and see him right away. We would have been treating it while in space, but we couldn't spare any excess power. Now that we are here though…"

Shulk nodded, then turned to everyone present. It was great to have everyone here again. He almost felt whole, as if he was only his complete self when he was around his friends. Walking past Reyn and Sharla (who had stopped arguing by now), he started towards NLA, the city that he hadn't seen for nearly 2 months. Turning round, he looked at everyone expectantly.

"Well, come and show me what I've missed then!"

* * *

><p><em>And it's done! Nearly 3,000 words in a month, I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long!<em>

_Anyway, before you guys ask, NO PAIRINGS! Apart from implicit canon couples, there will be ZERO romance in this thing, apart from the stuff in this chapter (such as that annoying triangle that all the fans get iffy over)._

_I'll be putting up Chapter 5 much later (as in E3 later), but don't worry! There WILL be more content for Chapter's 1 and 2 (Space Station stuff and Earth/WW stuff), so check back regularly!_

_Also, the view counter on the first chapter will be updated every time I put a chapter out/update a chapter, whether that update is 3,000 new words or spelling/grammar correction. As of when I upload this chapter, the counter sits at just under 600. Last chapter, it was around 390._

_However, in all those 200 or so views, I've not got ONE SINGLE REVIEW, let alone another follow or favourite. So please REVIEW! You don't need an account to review(I'm looking at you, people I've sent from Twitter or people from the FB hype group), so review! If you ARE one of those people, please include your Twitter name/your name as it appears on FB in the review so that you GET YOUR QUESTION if you are the 10__th__/20__th__/30__th__ etc reviewer!_

_Finally, what did Alvis find on the B.L.A.D.E server? Why is he so interested in Shulk's Monado's power all of a sudden? Just how does the telepathy work? Why is Shulk the last to be picked up, especially since he landed so close to NLA? Some of this (and obviously more) will be revealed in Chapter 5!_

_Besides all this, I hope you guys liked this chapter!_

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><p><em>All ye readers who have beheld the power of the Monado shall rejoice and be slaughtered.<em>


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